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Long-term exposure to Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) is a health risk for citizens. In this study, the cumulative health risk of exposure to VOCs in Tehran was assessed by investigating the concentration of these pollutants in ambient air in a five-year period. Health risk assessment was calculated by the quantitative method and the carcinogenic risk level was determined using the lifetime carcinogenic risk (LCR) method. The average concentration of benzene, toluene, ortho-xylene, and ethylbenzene was 1.4–1.8, 4.8–5.4, 5–6.5, and 3.6–4 ppb, respectively. Although HQ was not greater than 1, but it was very close in the case of benzene, ortho-xylene, meta-xylene, and para-xylene. Benzene and ethylbenzene had the largest effect in the assessed health risk. So the long-term exposure of Tehran citizens to VOCs has serious health consequences for them, which could be different according to the exposure time and spatial variations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Identifying the factors affecting emotional divorce due to the negative consequences of this social problem in women can play an important role in preventing its occurrence. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the relationship between internet addiction, domestic violence, and emotional divorce among married women in Tehran. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among married women in Tehran, Iran. Sampling was conducted first through a multi-stage cluster method and then continued using a random method. Tehran was divided into five parts: central, northern, southern, eastern, and western. The sample size was divided by 5, resulting in 80 participants selected from each part. In each part, two regions were selected, and in each region, 40 houses were randomly selected. Researchers visited the selected houses, and the questionnaires were filled out at home by the women. Tools such as Gottman's Emotional Divorce Test, Young's Internet Addiction Test, and the Domestic Violence against Women Survey were used to collect data. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data in SPSS (version 24) software. Results: A total of 400 women participated in the study. 46% of all married women suffered emotional divorce. The analysis of these tests showed that are positive and significant relationships between emotional divorce and internet addiction (r = 0.626, p < 0.0001), emotional divorce and domestic violence (r = 0.632, p < 0.0001), and internet addiction and domestic violence (r = 0.455, p < 0.0001). It was also found that there are significant negative relationships between emotional divorce and both the level of education (r=-0.115, p = 0.021) and employment status (r=-0.512, p < 0.0001). Additionally, there are significant negative relationships between internet addiction and age (r=-0.285, p < 0.0001), duration of marriage (r=-0.237, p < 0.0001) and employment status (r=-0.694, p < 0.0001). Furthermore, it was revealed that there are significant negative relationship between domestic violence and age (r=-0.104, p = 0.037) and level of education (r=-0.156, p = 0.002). Conclusion: Almost half of the married women in this study experienced emotional divorce, internet addiction, and domestic violence. These factors have a direct relationship with emotional divorce. Future studies are needed to understand how internet addiction might be associated with separation, emotional divorce and family problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Earthquake is a natural disaster that threaten large parts of Iran. In addition to the preparedness of relief organizations, people should know how to protect themselves from possible damages. Tehran, the capital of Iran, is prone to earthquakes and citizens' preparedness for possible earthquakes should be improved. This study aims to measure the safe emergency evacuation knowledge of citizens in Tehran, in case of an earthquake. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that was conducted on 602 residents of Tehran (all 22 districts) aged ≥15 years in 2022. Data were collected using a researchermade questionnaire with acceptable validity and reliability to measure the knowledge of safe placement and safe evacuation. Results: The mean knowledge score of citizens was 8.8 out of 20. The knowledge score was significantly higher in women than in men, in people under the age of 64, in those with higher level of education, in students/housekeepers and employed people, in people who had received relevant information from the educational programs prepared by the municipality and educational textbooks, and in those living in privileged urban areas. Nearly 25% of people had not received any education related to earthquake. Radio/TV programs and educational textbooks were the most common sources of information. Conclusion: There is a need to improve the knowledge of safe emergency evacuation during an earthquake among the residents of Tehran. In addition to formal education in schools/universities, citizens need appropriate training courses in other centers with the help of social media. Planning in this area should be attractive to motivate citizens to acquire more disaster knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The worldwide population growth and increasing urbanization of the past few decades have brought with it unplanned development of urban areas, affecting not only environmental quality but also increasing vulnerability during natural hazards and disrupting crisis management. Public open space, as a suitable spatial element, provides the necessary possibility for effective crisis management in cities. The metropolis of Tehran, the capital city of Iran, is located on a plain threatened by numerous faults. The population density in hazardous zones and the lack of potential to deal with earthquakes have increased the city's vulnerability. Therefore, because the organization of urban development for the efficient management of cities requires sufficient understanding of the needs and attention to the level of vulnerability, the seismic resistance of Tehran metropolis based on the earthquake risk has been investigated. In the earthquake risk assessment, population density as the number of risk elements, lack of enough public open space and urban fabric as vulnerability, and ground motion values expressed in the form of horizontal peak ground acceleration, have been considered as hazard components. Then, in the current study, to improve emergency services and the ease of crisis management, priority development of public open space has been determined based on international standards of the World Health Organization, the Public Health Bureau USA, the European Union, and the United Nations. The results showed reducing the seismic risk of regions 4, 8, 10, 14, and 17 in Tehran is priority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aims to identify the sociological dimensions and typology of emotional divorce in Tehran. Methods and Materials: The study employs a qualitative research approach with a phenomenological strategy. The statistical population includes couples aged between 25 to 40 years. Using purposive sampling, 21 participants were selected based on theoretical saturation. Data collection was conducted through semi-structured interviews. For data analysis, open coding and axial coding processes were used to extract relevant structures and indicators. The reliability of the coding process was ensured through re-coding and high levels of agreement. Findings: The research identified four main categories of emotional divorce, encompassing 14 initial codes and 55 semantic codes. The primary dimensions identified include compulsory living, lack of emotional behavior towards the spouse, emotional void, and changes in emotional relationships. Additionally, six types of emotional divorce were identified: lack of emotional support, communicative divorce, sexual divorce, reduced empathy, attentional divorce, and respect divorce. These types were derived from a detailed analysis of 82 semantic codes collected from the interview data. Conclusion: Emotional divorce is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon with profound and long-lasting effects on family and social relationships. The study underscores the importance of considering sociological factors in mitigating the negative impacts of emotional divorce. The findings suggest that appropriate training in communication and emotional management skills can significantly reduce the likelihood of emotional divorce. These insights are valuable for family counselors, psychologists, and policymakers in developing effective strategies and policies to enhance marital quality and prevent emotional divorce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the intertwined impacts of the 2018 US sanctions on Iran and the COVID-19 pandemic (as examples of unplanned international conflicts and global crises) on the source and extent of air pollution in Tehran, the capital of Iran. The impacts are parametrized using the levels of criteria air pollutants (CAP) for 5 years (2015–2020), which were previously deweathered using the promising machine learning technique of Random Forest (RF). The absolute principal component scores-multiple linear regression (APCS-MLR) method and the bivariate polar plot (BPP) technique are used here to analyze the source apportionment profile of the city for the business as usual (BAU; 2015 to 2018), sanctions (2019), and COVID-19 and sanctions (2020) intervals. The results show the severe impact of the 2018 US sanctions on Tehran's air quality (AQ); O3, NO2, CO, PM2.5, and PM10 levels increased by 117%, 55%, 20%, 35%, and 10%, respectively, while SO2 levels decreased by 30%. The sanctions also triggered a number of events, such as the disruption of the high-grade fuel supply chain and the Mazut crisis, which directly or indirectly accelerated the photochemical production of local tropospheric ozone to some extent. Sanctions also disrupted Tehran's AQ response to the pandemic, with CAP levels decreasing by only 2–7% during the pandemic. The ozone and PM10 BPPs show that the source apportionment profile of the city is dominated by local anthropogenic emission sources, especially urban transport, after the sanctions and the pandemic. Results also show that the impact of soft wars, such as the US sanctions against Iran, on urban air quality degradation is much stronger than that of hard wars, such as the Russia-Ukraine war. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Birds of various families and genera comprise a notable proportion of veterinary clients in veterinary practice. Regarding the scarcity of information on avian coccidia in pet birds, this study was designed to investigate and identify the diversity of gastrointestinal coccidian protozoa in caged pet birds. Accordingly, droppings samples were collected in 2.5% potassium dichromate and examined for the presence of oocysts by wet smear and by flotation with the saturated salt solution. Detected oocysts were further morphologically specified. Special Modified Ziehl-Neelsen stain was used for the detection of Cryptosporidium spp. oocysts. Out of the 145 droppings that were collected for parasitological investigations, it was discovered that a Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) had a Cryptosporidium sp. infection (1/145: 0.7%). Additionally, Isospora spp. was found in a common mynah and a canary (2/145: 1.4%), while Eimeria sp. was detected in a canary (1/145: 0.7%). Studied birds were clinically normal and no signs of intestinal infection were observed. The oocysts are described morphologically in detail and compared with the available data. Periodic faecal examination should be recommended for monitoring intestinal parasites in pet birds both from a public health perspective for Cryptosporidium and for avian host health in the case of non-zoonotic parasites. Additionally, the identification of parasite/host species composition will enhance our understanding of species diversity and the variety of hosts that coccidian parasites are capable of infecting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today's urban life has encountered with a number of challenges especially in social and spatial arenas. Socio-economic inequalities, sometimes, emerges in the form of spatial inequality. Tehran, as a metropolis and capital, enjoys effective system with higher sensitivities in national system. The city, though, with a multi and complex system has brought a large population under its arena but at the same time it is considered imbalanced with continuous growth and development. In other words, Tehran, despite a role model for macro socio-economic system, suffers from spatial disparity and imbalanced services. One of the most obvious and sharp characteristics of Tehran is its north-south spatial inequality and polarization thanks to modernisation and its elements such as cars and emerging business districts. In the post-1979 Islamic revolution, the gap between rich and poor and spatial inequality in Tehran has widened despite the promise otherwise. Urban planners and sociologists in Iran have conflicting views about the spatial disparity where some call it a historical trend and nothing to do with the globalisation process whereas others think vice versa. To know whether or not Tehran can be called a global city, the current paper tries to illustrate old and new emerging inequality patterns in Tehran. For that matter, the theory of' Global City (propounded by Saskia Sassen) has been analyzed based on spatial maps between 1996 and 2006. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exposure to heavy metals can result in various adverse health effects. Tehran is rated as one of the world's most polluted cities. Green space workers are continuously exposed to such pollutants in this city. Thus, this study aimed to estimate the health risks caused by exposure to heavy metals among green space workers. Eighty-eight workers and office personnel in two regions with different air quality levels were chosen for sampling. Air samples were collected using the NIOSH-7300 method and analyzed using an Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES) instrument. The hazard quotient (HQ) and the lifetime cancer risk (LTCR) were calculated to assess carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risk levels. The results revealed that the rank order of heavy metals was determined as Zn, Pb, Mn, Ni, Co, and Cd. Workers were subjected to higher concentrations of Ni, Pb, Zn, and Co than office personnel. Furthermore, the Cd, Co, and Zn exposure levels stood significantly higher in region 6 than in region 14. Non-carcinogenic risk levels for all participants fell within the acceptable range. Moreover, no employee had a carcinogenic risk level within the acceptable range when exposed to Cd. Also, 2.3% of individuals demonstrated Ni's acceptable carcinogenic risk level. Owing unacceptable risk levels, proper interventions are required to minimize occupational exposure to heavy metals. These interventions include optimizing shift schedules, using personal protective equipment, and conducting regular health assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The temperature has been a highly discussed issue in climate change. Predicting it plays an essential role in human affairs and lives. It is a challenging task to provide an accurate prediction of air temperature because of its complex and chaotic nature. This issue has drawn attention to utilizing the advances in modelling capabilities. ARIMA is a popular model for describing the underlying stochastic structure of available data. Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) can also be appropriate alternatives. In the literature, forecasting the temperature of Tehran using both techniques has not been presented so far. Therefore, this article focuses on modelling air temperatures in the Tehran metropolis and then forecasting for twelve months by comparing ANN with ARIMA. Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) can help deal with complex problems. However, its potential for improving the performance of forecasting methods has been neglected in the literature. Thus, improving the accuracy of ANN using PSO is investigated as well. After evaluations, applying the seasonal ARIMA model is recommended. Moreover, the improved ANN by PSO outperforms the pure ANN in predicting air temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates factors influencing housing prices in Tehran's metropolitan area and predicts their values. We analysed a sample of 32,162 housing units using Hedonic Model and Artificial Neural Networks for prediction and comparison. The Results indicate that distance to certain transportation facilities, such as airports, bus terminals, and road intersections, positively affects housing prices, potentially due to their capacity to attract traffic and environmental externalities. Conversely, distance to facilities like public bike stations and bus rapid transit stations negatively impacts prices, signalling their role in enhancing accessibility. Notably, ANN outperformed hedonic in predicting housing prices. These findings hold significant implications for policymakers, investors, and housing market stakeholders, shedding light on the intricate relationship between transportation infrastructure and housing prices. The study underscores the importance of employing diverse modelling methods to capture the non-linear dynamics of housing markets. These insights are crucial for evidence-based decision-making and can inform more effective policies and strategies in metropolitan Tehran and other similar cities. By aligning transportation policies with housing market needs, cities can enhance urban development and promote sustainable growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective waste management in Tehran faces significant challenges arising from urbanization and population growth. This study delves into the current state of municipal solid waste management in Tehran, examining technical, social, economic, environmental health, and structural dimensions to identify key issues. Data collection involved questionnaires and consultations with experts. Results indicate various problems, including incomplete waste production data recording systems, inefficient source separation programs, inappropriate waste storage, high collection frequencies, subpar compost production, unregulated informal waste picking, landfill non-compliance, and limited management capacities. Evidence-based solutions encompass comprehensive waste production monitoring systems, public education, improved storage infrastructure, reduced collection frequencies, modern composting technology adoption, and landfill upgrades. Policymaking recommendations include incentivizing informal waste collectors to formalize, preventing child labor, enhancing public participation, mitigating corruption, streamlining contracts, and promoting coordination. Overall, a collaborative approach, emphasizing personnel training, infrastructure enhancement, public awareness campaigns, and research and development, is pivotal in establishing an effective and sustainable waste management system in Tehran. This study contributes to crucial insights into Tehran's waste management challenges and offers potential pathways for improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article looks at the life of Henry Holdship Ware (1908-1999), the grandson of the founder of Atlanta University. Captain Henry H. Ware was an aide and interpreter to Major General John Deane, Chief of the U.S. Military Mission to the Soviet Union during World War 2. In this capacity, he was an interpreter with the U.S. Army assigned to the Tripartite Conference in Moscow (1943) and Conferences at Tehran (1943) and Yalta (1945), and a liaison officer and interpreter during Operation Frantic, a joint American-Soviet campaign of shuttle bombing missions in Poltava, Ukraine, in June–September 1944. He was also present at the official surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany at Karlshorst on May 8, 1945, and interpreted toasts at the banquet of celebration after the ceremony. Henry Ware learnt Russian during his five-year stay as a student at Plekhanov Institute in Moscow, where he studied economics and was recruited by the NKVD to report on the American community in Moscow. Back in the USA, he was independently recruited by the Golos-Bentley Soviet espionage network under the codename ‘Vick”. In 1975, probably inspired by his study of the Soviet economy, he founded the Useful Services Exchange (USE), a community-based organization in Reston, Virginia, enabling neighbors to help each other through the exchange of services. The discussion draws on available visuals, memoirs, newspaper sources, and declassified documents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of a study carried out to develop a multi-severity casualty approach for predicting the number of fatalities and two levels of injuries resulting from an earthquake. The two levels of injuries are severity 1, which do not require hospitalization, and severity 2, which do require hospitalization. The method provides a probability distribution of casualty, which can assist policymakers and disaster management authorities in developing emergency response plans. The proposed approach takes into account two main sources of uncertainty: variations in ground motion values (by generating thousands of shaking maps considering the spatial correlation of intra-event uncertainty) and uncertainty in casualty rates (by using the fuzzy set theorem and random sampling). As a case study, the proposed method was applied to the Mosha fault seismic scenario (7.4 Mw) in Tehran, Iran. The results indicated that 200,300 people may lose their lives in that seismic scenario. Additionally, the number of injuries with severity 1 and severity 2 are estimated to be about 420,600 and 232,980, respectively. These numbers exceed the healthcare capacity in Tehran. The estimated number of fatalities was then compared with the results of some existing empirical models in the literature. This comparison revealed that the empirical models underestimate the number of fatalities due to various reasons, such as a lack of strong earthquakes in urban areas to be included in empirical models. Thus, the proposed approach has several advantages for estimating casualties in urban fabrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Shahyad monument, which has served as a symbol of Tehran—and by extension of modern Iran—since its inauguration in 1971, stands at the center of a huge open space that has been successively appropriated by Pahlavis, revolutionaries, and the Islamic Republic and has been persistently mediated and remediated in its relatively short life. This contested urban monument embodies the complex story of a space in which multiple sets of illusions—a Pahlavi fantasy as well as a revolutionary dream—are undone. In this paper, the space's story is traced through varied types of media and archival material, including plans and architectural drawings, official reports and correspondences, and especially through journalistic photographs of the Square in 1979 and its representation in various media afterward. I examine shifts in this specific space at particular and historically grounded conjunctures, honing in not just on the site's meta-narratives and its grand spectacular events, but also on the decentralized and ignored narratives and histories, demonstrating how they have reworked the meaning of this monumental space, turning it into a stage for contrarian politics. Focusing on the monument during the 1978-79 Revolution, I argue that the transformations in the meaning and perception of the site at that particular moment are indeed forces of a fundamental remaking, in that they open up the monumental site to further appropriations, as we are currently witnessing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the association between increased micronuclei (MNi) level in reproductive age women and increased risk of congenital abnormalities, we aimed in this study to find the contribution of WTS to women's health in apparently healthy young cases by comparing the variability of MN values in water pipe smokers and non-smokers. Finding the associations between MNi levels and demographic, socioeconomic, reproductive, and lifestyle factors was the secondary scope of this study. This cross-sectional case-control study was performed on 30 premenopausal women (15 cases and 15 controls) who lived in Tehran, according to our inclusion criteria. The mean MN frequency among waterpipe smokers was 28.53± 7.462, whereas the same parameter in the control group was 6.53 + 3.24 (p= 0.001). Non-parametric tests revealed a significant association between MNi and frequency of waterpipe smoking (p = 0.001), age of starting waterpipe smoking (p = 0.003), concurrent use of alcoholic drinks (p= 0.004), and secondhand smoking (p =0.001). In the context of heavy environmental pollution in Tehran, significantly higher MNi frequencies and decreased genomic health in waterpipe smoker women in reproductive age may predispose them to an increased risk of harmful reproductive outcomes. These findings emerge from governmental and non-governmental biomonitoring programs in high-risk women to concern more on unhealthy lifestyles and environmental pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatial equity in access to urban services is a significant element of sustainable urban planning. To date, a service-based index is used to measure service attractiveness, considering attractiveness as a static concept. While from the user side view, service attractiveness is a dynamic concept related to the variation of different opportunities of users to use the services and capacities. In this paper, a user-based method for measuring service attractiveness is proposed. In this approach, the attractiveness of service for a user is modeled as a function of the user's Travel Times (TT), Free Times (FTs), park size and relative positions of the user, local demanding population, and service. Then, the inequity of attractiveness of services for different users has been examined using three inequity indices including the Duration of Use (DU), Frequency of Visit (FV), and the Chance of Space Choice (CSC). The proposed method is applied to urban regional parks of Tehran municipality. Traffic Analysis Zones (TAZs) and regional parks are respectively regarded as the users and services. In addition to considering inequity of access to the first closest park, the additional cost of accessing to the other two closest parks is also considered. Results show that the proposed method leads to the exploration of the existing inequities of DU, FV, and CSC among residents in local scales, whereas in the service-based method, all users of a service are highlighted with a single value of attractiveness. Comparison of the user-based and service-based attractiveness indices show significant differences. As an example, user-based attractiveness values of about 14% and 20% of TAZs are respectively 5 and 3 square meters more than that of the service-based attractiveness index. However, the service-based method is suitable for regional-scale comparison of the inequities. Therefore, the proposed index can complement the service-based index for inequity mapping and management in varying scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The dynamics of domestic tourism have gained prominence, especially in the wake of global disruptions such as the COVID-19 pandemic, which shifted travel preferences towards more localized experiences. This study aims to identify and analyze the dimensions of domestic tourism demand in Tehran, focusing on the motivations, barriers, preferences, and impacts of tourism within the city. The objective is to provide a comprehensive understanding that can inform policy and strategic planning to enhance Tehran's appeal as a domestic tourist destination. Methodology: A qualitative research approach was employed, utilizing semistructured interviews as the primary data collection method. The study targeted a purposive sample of local residents, domestic tourists, and professionals within the tourism sector in Tehran. Theoretical saturation guided the data collection process, ensuring a thorough exploration of themes. Data were analyzed through thematic analysis, allowing for the identification of key patterns, themes, and categories within the data. Findings: The study unveiled five main themes: Motivations for Domestic Tourism, Barriers to Domestic Tourism, Perceptions of Tehran as a Tourist Destination, Tourist Preferences and Behaviors, and the Impact of Domestic Tourism. Each theme comprised various categories with associated concepts, ranging from cultural interest, relaxation, and social connections to economic factors, safety concerns, and the broader economic, cultural, and social impacts of tourism. These findings underscore the complex interplay of factors influencing domestic tourism demand in Tehran. Conclusion: This research highlights the multifaceted nature of domestic tourism demand in Tehran, revealing a spectrum of motivations driving tourists, alongside significant barriers that need addressing. The study underscores the potential of domestic tourism as a catalyst for economic development, cultural preservation, and social cohesion in Tehran. By addressing identified barriers and leveraging the motivations and preferences of domestic tourists, Tehran can enhance its domestic tourism sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Floods are a destructive disaster in Iran. The case of Kan River Basin is a representative example of the dynamics of seasonal and extraordinary rains in floodplains associated with the Niña phenomenon, storms, low pressure systems and tropical cyclones. The tectonic, geological, geomorphological, biological and climatological characteristics draw this relief with intense dynamics. They along with the population growth without effective planning of the territory generate ideal risk scenarios for the disaster occurrence with greater intensities. A morphometric and morphogenetic analysis is carried out, which gives a flood hazard map of the basin with four susceptibility types: the apparent seasonal beds, the maximum floodplain, the extraordinary floodplain, and the areas of low susceptibility to occurrence. This map is validated through the DesInventar disasters database with a 95.08% of confirmation. This cartography and its respective analysis are a basic input for the risk management and the territorial ordering of this river basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aims to analyze the relationship between environmental justice and urban green space connectivity in Tehran, Iran. The evaluation of green space connectivity in this study is conducted through two distinct cost layers: one aimed at enhancing existing connections and another focused on establishing new green spaces. Key factors influencing connectivity, extracted from the relevant literature, were identified to facilitate this analysis. Employing graph theory and least-cost analysis, the results determined critical resistance factors, current connectivity and cost status, the varying degrees to which different districts benefit from green space ecosystem services, and the most effective routes for establishing green corridors. Research findings highlight significant disparities in access to these services, particularly in the underserved central districts of Tehran. Moreover, spatial analysis reveals a higher potential for enhancing east–west ecosystem service corridors due to the higher density of green hubs and lower costs in this orientation, while north–south connectivity faces more challenges. By exploring land use/land cover, and physical and socio-economic factors affecting urban green space connectivity, this study provides urban and environmental planners with a novel methodology and comprehensive insights for effective decision making, resource allocation, and land use planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study we investigated the relationship between social capital (SC) and quality of urban life (QoUL). In fact, by using the concept of SC, we examined accuracy of the causal relationship among the three dimensions of the QoUL (objective, subjective and behavioral). The 22 district of Tehran was our case study. This district officially ran in 2000. The main tool for data collection was questionnaire and its constructs were directly extracted from the literature review. According to Cochran formula a total 384 questionnaire were distributed among participants. The data obtained from the questionnaire were analyzed in SPSS 21 as well as Smart PLS 3. The approach of structural equations modeling (SEM) was employed to confirm or decline our hypotheses. Findings of this study show that SC was positively associated with all three dimensions of QoUL. Also, the high objective QoUL in our sample has created a high subjective QoUL. However, the SQoUL did not lead to high behavioral QoUL. We believe that the low level of SC in the area has led to such a result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tehran province as a diverse habitat for different animal species, has the potential to support many land molluscs species. However, a little glimpse of the research on malacology shows that Tehran province is probably the least well-studied area for land snails in Iran. Herein, the very first comprehensive study about the land snails collected from Tehran province in addition to the previous scientific document is presented. The data included here are based on the field investigations and the published records by different authors from 2008 to 2023 This checklist is collectively composed of 22 species belonging to 16 genera under nine families from different parts of Tehran province. However, some areas of Tehran province have not been investigated in terms of the diversity of snail species. The outcome of this report shows that more research is needed on the species diversity of terrestrial snails in Tehran province. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the effects of noise and vibrations caused by railways on the lives of residents around the railways in districts 17 and 18 of Tehran, the capital of Iran which amounts to about 700,000 people, are investigated. In the first stage the actual level of noise was measured at various points which showed above standard levels. Afterward, the authors developed a questionnaire and the survey was conducted from 376 residents. The findings of this study show that the most important factor for the residents adjacent to the railway line is the need for action by the country's railway authorities to reduce and control the adverse effects of noise and vibration. Also, the analysis of inferential statistics performed by chi-square test shows that the variables of gender and proximity of residence or workplace or both to the railway do not affect any of the railway noise or vibration dissatisfaction. The age variable also has no effect on noise dissatisfaction but does impact on vibration. Finally, distance from the railway affects both disaffection from noise and vibration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We developed an artificial neural network as an air quality model and estimated the scope of the climate change impact on future (until 2064) summertime trends of hourly ozone concentrations at an urban air quality station in Tehran, Iran. Our developed scenarios assume that present-time emissions conditions of ozone precursors will remain constant in the future. Therefore, only the climate change impact on future ozone concentrations is investigated in this study. General Circulation Model (GCM) projections indicate more favorable climate conditions for ozone formation over the study area in the future: the surface temperature increases over all months of the year, solar radiation increases, and precipitation decreases in future summers, and summertime daily maximum temperature increases about 1.2∘C to 3∘C until 2064. In the scenario based on present-time ozone conditions in the 2012 summer without any exceedances, the summertime exceedance days of the 8-hr ozone standard are projected to increase in the future by about 4.2 days in the short term and about 12.3 days in the mid-term. Similarly, in the scenario based on present-time ozone conditions in the 2010 summer with 58 days of exceedance from the 8-hr ozone standard, exceedances are projected to increase by about 4.5 days in the short term and about 14.1 days in the mid-term. Moreover, the number of Unhealthy and Very Unhealthy days in the 8-hr Air Quality Index (AQI) is also projected to increase based on pollution scenarios of both summers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as ubiquitous pollutants can pose potential environmental and also human health risks. Therefore, this study was conducted for detecting, identifying the sources and evaluating the health risks of PAHs in topsoils in vicinity of Arad-Kouh processing and disposal complex, Tehran, Iran in 2020. In so doing, a total of 30 surface soil samples were collected from 10 sampling sites adjacent to Arad-kouh complex. After extraction of analytes, the gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC–MS) method was used to determine the rates of PAH compounds in surface soil samples. Based on the results obtained, the total concentrations (µg kg−1) of 16 PAHs ranged from 863 to 1384 with a mean of 1123. PAHs with 4–6 rings in their molecules with 65.3% of ∑16PAH mass dominated the PAH profiles. Molecular diagnostic ratios (MDRs) indicated that most of PAH compounds could originate from pyrogenic sources. The total incremental lifetime cancer risks (ILCRs) of PAH compounds with an average value of 4.20E-05 (ranging from 3.02E-05 to 5.23E-05), indicating a low potential carcinogenic risk of PAH compounds in the study area, especially through dermal contact. Although, the ILCRs values showed negligible adverse health effects from direct ingestion and inhalation of PAH compounds in the study area, regular and periodic monitoring of content and sources identification of PAHs in different environments and efforts to mitigate of their pollution for human health maintenance are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, Iranian society has experienced rapid socio-economic changes that seriously affect feelings of hope in the future (HF) among social groups, especially in metropolitan areas such as Tehran. This study on HF, which I conducted in 2019, provides a gender analysis of HF for Tehran residents based on selected demographic variables and indicators of socio-economic and psychological insecurities. It also analyzes organizational and public trust by applying the Classification and Regression Trees (CART). I selected the participants from different areas of Tehran: 590 men and 610 women out of a population of 4,839,249 (3,054,715 men and 1,784,534 women) using two-stage stratified sampling with Probability Proportional to Size (PPS), and I completed with them structured questionnaires. The results showed that HF of Tehran residents is correlated with their gender (P-value = 0.033). Thus, two distinct trees with over 60% accuracies were fitted. Three influential variables on men's HF were age, socio-economic insecurity, and public trust. Young men had higher HF than older ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses a multilevel hedonic model to examine information from official sources including the population census, the land-use map, and the field survey to draw conclusions about the 32,108 Tehran residences that make up the statistical sample. These results show that other factors besides proximity to urban facilities are important in determining the value of a home in Tehran, Iran. The results show that proximity to education, culture, entertainment, tourism, administration, and social service centers has a positive effect on housing prices, while proximity to some urban amenities, such as medical centers, commercial strips, and parks, has a negative effect on housing prices. This gap can be explained in part by the externalities of these facilities, including the creation of through traffic, congestion, and reduced security levels, which discourage home buyers from getting too close to these amenities. Furthermore, the study found that the effect of proximity differs from that of service provision at the neighborhood level. For example, while the presence of a medical/health center at neighborhood level was found to be a positive determinant of house prices, its proximity had a negative effect on house prices. In fact, home buyers prefer to purchase properties in neighborhoods that offer such amenities but are less likely to purchase properties in areas adjacent to such amenities. The higher the ratio of nonresidential to residential uses, the higher the price of housing in those areas. In fact, this shows the advantage of neighborhoods with a variety of uses more than single-use neighborhoods. The data also demonstrate that the variances across neighborhoods in Tehran account for a significant amount of the housing price variation, with 11% and 48% of the total variance attributed to local and regional levels of analysis, respectively. This highlights the nested and hierarchical nature of housing price data and the use of multilevel modeling for estimating home prices in Tehran. The results presented in this work may have theoretical and practical uses for scholars, insurance firms, banks, real estate developers, and others in the field of property economics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between urban density and social conditions in urban areas has received increasing attention in recent research. However, there is a lack of understanding of the dynamics between urban densification and these social conditions from a place-specific perspective, taking into account the institutional, socio-cultural, and contextual complexities. This paper seeks to enhance this understanding by unpacking the relationship between soft densification and place attachment in Tehran, Iran. The paper develops a framework for studying 'soft densification' as a process of incremental place change by prioritising local knowledge. The findings suggest that soft densification impacts place attachment by disrupting the everyday functionality of place, eroding its physical characteristics, erasing some of its collective and personal memories, and altering its socio-demographic structure. The paper highlights the importance of thinking 'procedurally' and 'topologically' about urban densification and calls for incorporating local knowledge and experiences into policy planning and urban decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The metropolis of Tehran, the capital and the largest city of Iran, has been affected by the phenomenon of land subsidence in the past years. Up to now, no comprehensive study has been presented on land subsidence in the Tehran metropolis. This study addresses this shortcoming through a comprehensive investigation of surface and sub-surface factors that affect the subsidence and investigates the mechanism of subsidence development in Tehran. Land surface studies involve assessing the subsidence rate by utilizing InSAR technology, tracking the urban development of the city through time, and investigating geomorphological features like the alluvial fans landforms and surface drainage. Sub-surface studies include groundwater and geotechnical assessments. The evaluations indicate that the combinations of soils with a high percentage of fine grains and the drop in the underground water level are the major drivers of subsidence in the south of Tehran. The results of the study showed that the highest rate of land subsidence is 217 mm/year and has happened in the southwest of Tehran city. Districts 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20, which comprise about 26% of Tehran's population (about 2.3 million people in 2016), are affected by subsidence. According to the results obtained from the geomorphological studies, these areas are located at the end of the alluvial fan of Kan and Chitgar (south and southwest of Tehran). The paper also focuses on the sharp northward growth of the subsidence zone in the northeast corner of Tehran's subsidence zone. From investigations, it is concluded that changes in four river courses (which lead to a drop in the underground water level) in conjunction with fine grain soil of this area are (probably) the major factors that have played a role in the northward growth of the subsidence zone at the northeastern corner. The paper also identifies the most vulnerable urban districts affected by the subsidence as well as some major infrastructures exposed to subsidence hazards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to determine pesticide residues in milk and dairy product samples from Tehran, Iran. A total of 50 samples (raw milk, ultra-high temperature milk, pasteurised milk, pasteurised and traditional butter, and pasteurised and traditional cheese) were randomly collected from June to August 2022, and their pesticide contents were examined through high-performance liquid chromatography. Out of the 50 samples, 38, 42, and 100% contained cypermethrin, deltamethrin, and hexachlorobenzene over the maximum residue limit set by the EU, respectively. Traditional butter had Cypermethrin and hexachlorobenzene means concentration of 75.64 ± 22.40 and 61.69 ± 17.78 µg/kg, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seismic hazard estimation relies on Ground Motion Prediction Equations (GMPEs) giving the expected motion level as a function of several parameters characterizing the source and the sites of interest. However, in regions like Greater Tehran metropolitan area located in the Alborz seismotectonic province, northern Iran records of moderate to large earthquakes at short distances from the faults are still few and most local and regional GMPEs are poorly constrained at short ranges. In other words, data may only partially account for the rupture process, seismic wave propagation, and three-dimensional complex configurations (i.e., Tehran Basin in this case). Here, to investigate the capabilities of physics-based methods, two sets of 3-D numerical simulations of possible earthquakes scenarios in Tehran region along two predominate sources are carried out through the finite difference approach for low frequency motions. Then the stochastic finite fault method is used for quantifying ground motion values at higher frequencies. At last, the combined broadband simulation results are used in a probabilistic seismic hazard analysis. The seismic hazard results show the combined effects of the site and basin, and give a high-resolution representation of the hazard in the near field of active earthquake faults in the Tehran Basin, particularly over long periods. This representation is anticipated to be more accurate than those based simply on empirical GMPEs. It should be noted that effects of other less important surrounding faults are not included in the hazard analysis due to lack of sufficient data and computational limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the characteristics of ambient airborne microplastics were investigated in Tehran to obtain insights into their origins. For this purpose, sampling operations took place at locations with different backgrounds in summer and autumn by using TSP and PM10 high-volume samplers. As a result of microscopic analysis and Raman spectroscopy, the color, shape, number, size, and type of microplastic particles were investigated. Seven types of chemical structures were identified in the particles, among which polypropylene (18.7%) in summer and polystyrene (20%) in autumn had the dominant share. The average number of particles collected using the TSP and PM10 samplers were 1165 ± 147.64 and 1006.5 ± 147.64, respectively. The size of microplastic particles in different stations varied between 4 and 3094 μm. In the seasonal examination of the identified colors, black (38–43%), red (17–19%), gold (13–14%), brown (12% in both seasons), blue (7–10%), yellow (3–5%), and green (2–5%) had the largest proportions, respectively. The examined microplastics were in three forms: fiber, bead, and fragment, among which the predominant form was fiber, and the most infrequent particles were fragments. Statistical comparisons showed that the sampling location does not have a significant effect on the number and size of particles (p value > 0.05). The season was not identified as a determining parameter for particle size (p value > 0.05). On the other hand, seasonal changes can have a tremendous effect on the microplastic particle number (p value < 0.05). Lastly, to obtain more detailed information about the origin of these particles, continuous and long-term monitoring near known industries and suspected sources of plastic materials and source apportionment studies were suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study conducts a comprehensive evaluation of air pollution in Tehran, focusing on its origins and potential remedial measures. Data from the Mehrabad station in Tehran were meticulously analyzed to scrutinize the spatiotemporal dynamics over a three-year period. Leveraging the Universal Radio Sound Observation (RAOB) program, we probed atmospheric attributes up to 750 m on specific critical dates: January 22, 2014; January 25, 2015; and November 27, 2016, which represent peak pollution events. Employing mathematical models, we scrutinized air temperature inversion profiles and applied the Heffter method to gauge the impact of atmospheric inversions on Tehran's air quality. Our investigation unequivocally identified January 25, 2015, as the most polluted date, unveiling precise atmospheric conditions during a radiation inversion, encompassing altitudes, temperatures, humidity, wind speed, and inversion depth. This research significantly advances our comprehension of the intricate interplay between atmospheric inversions and air pollution. It provides critical insights that can inform the development of targeted strategies to mitigate air quality issues not only in Tehran but also in analogous urban settings worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exponential growth of population and industries has brought about an increase in energy consumption, causing severe climatic and environmental problems. Therefore, the move towards green renewable energy is being ever more intensified. This study aims at estimating the rooftop solar power production for Tehran, the capital city of Iran, using a Geospatial Information System (GIS) to assess the big data of city building parcels. Tehran is faced with severe air pollution due to its excessive fossil fuel usage, and its electricity demand is increasing. As a result, this paper attempts to provide the quantified solar power potential of city roof tops for policymakers and authorities in order to facilitate decision-making in relation to integrating renewable energies into the power production infrastructure. The results shows that approximately 3000 GWh (more than 14% of the total electric energy consumption) of solar power can be produced by the rooftop PV installations in Tehran. The potential nominal power of rooftop PV installations is estimated to be more than 2000 MW, which is four times the current installed PV capacity of the whole country. The findings of the study suggest that there is great potential hidden on the rooftops of the city, which can be utilized to assist the power systems of the city in the longer run for a more sustainable future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the concentration of BTEX in Tehran from 2018 to 2020 in five monitoring stations with different backgrounds, which has been accomplished using the combination of passive sampling and GC-FID method. The total concentration of BTEX was estimated to be 65.39 (µg/m3), with a higher average concentration in 2019–2020 (77.79 µg/m3) compared to 2018–2019 (53.48 µg/m3) due to the leaping concentration of Toluene in the pandemic era. Despite a Benzene concentration decline in recent years, the average annual concentration of Benzene (5.66 µg/m3) at five stations remained higher than the EU commission and India standards (5 µg/m3) as well as Japan and Iraq thresholds (3 µg/m3). Toluene dominated other species in terms of concentrations, mass distribution (~0.6%), followed by m,p–Xylene (~0.2%), Benzene (~0.05–0.1) and Ethylbenzene (< 0.05). The evidence regarding seasonal changes of BTEX in 2019 shows the maximum concentration of these compounds in autumn, which is probably due to heavier traffic compared to other seasons. In contrast, in the first half of 2020 (which encompasses the start of the pandemic period and urban lockdown), point sources seem to play a prominent role in concentration fluctuations, as confirmed by changes in interspecies relationships and lower traffic congestion. The highest mean concentrations were observed in high-traffic, residential and suburban sites, respectively. The study reveals that m,p-Xylene possess the highest Ozone formation potential (~109.46), followed by Toluene (~85.34), o-Xylene (~46.87), Ethylbenzene (~13.52) and Benzene (~2.61). Health risk assessment results indicated the high carcinogenic risk of Benzene (mean = 3.6 × 10–6) and the acceptable non-carcinogenic risk of BTEX (hazard index~0.03 < specified limit of 1). Finally, the estimated weighted exposures of BTEX emphasized that residents near the high-traffic districts are more exposed to BTEX. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface wave azimuthal anisotropy in the uppermost crust could be essential to obtain the patterns of the local stress field and shallow Earth's interior structures. We used the micro-earthquakes (M ≤ 4) waveforms recorded by the Tehran Disaster Mitigation and Management Organization (TDMMO) and Iranian Seismological Center (IrSC) networks between 2006 and 2018. We applied the multiple filter analysis, FTAN, to measure Rayleigh wave group velocities and then inverted them to obtain isotropic and fast anisotropic direction maps at periods of 0.5 to 3.0 s. After obtaining the local dispersion curve for each geographic grid point, we applied a 1D VS inversion procedure. We inserted the resulting model into the original grid point to obtain a quasi-3D VS model in the Tehran region. According to these results, we divided the study area into five local fast anisotropic direction sectors. The resulting velocity maps indicate that the Tehran basin, with relatively low velocity, has been filled out by alluvial deposits with thicknesses between 0.4 km (in the north) and 1.2 km (in the south). In contrast, the fast-direction pattern in this basin changes from W-E (sector #2-west) to N-S (sector #4). A low-to-high-velocity anomaly change inside the basin and near-surface depths (up to 3 km) can illustrate the secondary faults, such as the Pardisan fault. The northern Tehran mountains appear with a high velocity in these maps with three different fast anisotropy directions (sectors #1, part of #2-west, and #5). This feature has also been observed in other stress field studies. In general, our tomographic results in the uppermost crust indicate that the azimuthal anisotropy can provide the velocity structure and illustrate the local stress field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Automotive operations and manufacturing produce a lot of airborne particulate matter. Heavy metal-laden particulate matter may harm humans and the environment. This study examines the relationship between heavy metals and suspended particles in the automotive industry and assesses heavy metal risk. Using the OSHA125G guidelines, the measurement of particles and their analysis using fiberglass membrane filters and the acid digestion method in 15 points around the automotive industries of Region 21 in two hot and cold seasons was done 24 h a day, and finally, the contribution of heavy metals to the amount of suspended particles in the area was checked. In this study, the average concentration of total metals in the hot and cold seasons was 38 and 57 ng/m3, respectively. Also, the total concentration of suspended particles in summer is about 10% higher than its concentration in winter, and the reason for this can be the entry of suspended particles by local winds into the areas of Tehran. The highest and lowest incidences of cancer in the resident group are related to lead and nickel. Also, both groups of residents and workers are immune from non-carcinogenic risks. A study has shown that the amount of heavy metals in the atmosphere around the world is higher in the winter than in the summer. It is possible to claim that man-made activities, particularly automotive ones, were the origin of heavy metals other than nickel in the winter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aims to investigate the effect of virtual education during the COVID-19 outbreak on air pollution indicators in Tehran. The study uses quantitative methods, including One-Way ANOVA, to analyze the air pollution indicators before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data on air pollution indicators in Tehran from 2018, 2019, and 2020 were collected from Tehran Air Control Company and compared using statistical tests. The year 2019 represents virtual education, while 2018 and 2020 represent face-to-face education. The examined indicators include particulate matters with a diameter less or equal than 2.5μ (PM2.5), SO2, NOX (i.e., NO2 and NO), O3, and CO. The results of variance analysis show significant differences in the PM2.5and NOX indices between virtual and face-to-face training days. Follow-up tests by Toki and Scheffé indicate that in 2019, when education was fully virtual, the levels of these pollutants were lower compared to 2018 and 2020. However, there were no significant differences in the SO2, O3, and CO indices during the days of virtual education compared to the years before and after. This suggests that virtual education during the COVID-19 outbreak contributed to pollution reduction by reducing traffic to educational organizations and its indirect effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a multitude of statistical tools were used to examine PM10 concentration trends and their seasonal behavior from 2015 to 2021 in Tehran. The results of the integrated analysis have led to a better understanding of current PM10 trends which may be useful for future management policies. The Kruskal – Wallis test indicated the significant impact of atmospheric phenomena on the seasonal fluctuations of PM10. The seasonal decomposition of PM10 time series was conducted for better analysis of trends and seasonal oscillations. The seasonal Mann-Kendall test illustrated the significant possibility of a monotonic seasonal trend of PM10 (p = 0.026) while showing its negative slope simultaneously (Sen = -1.496). The forecasting procedure of PM10 until 2024 comprised 15 time series models which were validated by means of 8 statistical criteria. The model validation results indicated that ARIMA (0,1,2) was the most satisfactory case for predicting the future trend of PM10. This model estimated the concentration of PM10 to reach approximately 79.04 (µg/m3 ) by the end of 2023 with a 95% confidence interval of 51.38 – 107.42 (µg/m3 ). Overall, it was concluded that the use of the aforementioned analytical tools may help decision-makers gain a better insight into future forecasts of ambient airborne particulate matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phytosterols are among the most important plant sterol compounds. This study was conducted to identify and determine the amount of phytosterols in distributed yogurts in Tehran by gas chromatography method without derivatization. A total of 60 yogurt samples, including 20 pasteurized high -fat yogurt samples, 20 pasteurized cream yogurt samples, and 20 traditional high -fat yogurt samples, were collected randomly from dairy product supply centers in Tehran from January to March 2022. Then, the amount of cholesterol and four phytosterol compounds including brassicasterol, campesterol, stigmasterol, and beta -sitosterol in yogurt samples were determined using gas chromatography assay without derivatization. The results showed that the total sterols in high -fat, creamy, and traditional yogurt samples were 504.08±55.79, 816.21±51.87, and 332.8±41.22 mg/100mL, respectively. The highest and lowest percentage of cholesterol belongs to cream (%54.75±065) and traditional yogurt (%46.57±0.65), respectively(p<0.05). Also, the highest percentage of phytosterol belongs to traditional yogurt(%54.75±065) and there was a significant difference with other yogurts(p<0.05). The results also showed that the total phytosterols were more than the permissible limit of the national standard (3%) in all samples. According to the results, phytosterols are used in various yogurts distributed in Tehran, which is against the national standard of Iran. Therefore, periodic and regular evaluation of phytosterols in distributed yogurts should be done throughout the year by regulatory bodies and prevent the violation of consumers' rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consumption patterns in social groups are diversely affected by global and local processes. Using a mixed approach, this study analyses the consumption pattern of three classes of young in Tehran (capital of Iran) including the rich, middle and lower classes. The findings suggest that the self-indulgent lifestyle of rich kids of Tehran is a reproduction of global consumption patterns. The ingress of global patterns and culture into society was also mediated through the rich class, who are inclined to convergence in consumption in the global context. Rich kids act as the reference group for lifestyle among middle- and lower-class youth, who adopt eclectic lifestyles in the local context. Overall, the nature and extent to which rich kids are perceived as a reference group differ between the two classes, with the middle-class youth taking a more realistic, extensive and imitative perspective and the lower class incorporating a more mental, limited, false and damaging mindset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ozone and nitrogen pollution of the urban outdoor air in Tehran, a megacity of 10 million inhabitants with heavy urban traffic, strongly affects the health of its citizens. Therefore, monitoring of ozone (O3) and nitrogen (NO2) pollutants is crucial. The aim of this study is to investigate the seasonality of ground-level and the total column O3, the ground-level NO2, and their interactions. For this purpose, in 14 air quality measurement stations of Tehran Air Quality Control Company (AQCC), the OMI/MODIS Aqua products were used for a period of 10 years (2010–2019) as well as the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) data (2019–2022). The results of the stations analysis show that the monthly mean surface O3 concentration presents a maximum level in June and a minimum in December. The maximum amount of shortwave radiation flux and UV index was also in June and July. The minimum and maximum of the total O3 concentration column are located north of Tehran and southwest of the province, respectively, with a difference of 9DU between the two. Comparison of the total column and surface ozone data shows high concentration during the spring months. It was not possible to determine the overall relationship between nitrogen and ozone at the station scale. However, the total vertical column of the atmosphere and the tropopause height are mainly negatively correlated based on IMO/MODIS Aqua products. Finally, the analysis of TROPOMI data (2019–2022) confirmed the seasonal variability of NO2 and O3 over Iran while identifying correlation areas of O3 and NO2 over Iran, suggesting potential areas of O3 generation such as urban areas, oil/gas refineries, and natural barrier for pollutant dispersion such as mountains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanization is spreading all over the world, with more than half of the people now living in urban ecosystems. Pollutants such as metals have continuously been introduced into ecosystems as a consequence of urbanization and industrial processes. Metals can bioaccumulate in tissues of organisms. Therefore, the selection of ecological compartments such as birds as bio-indicator species can be a proper approach to monitor pollution in cities. This study aimed to measure concentrations of lead in the lungs and feathers of the house sparrow (Passer domesticus) and investigate the possibility of applying this species for air pollution monitoring in Tehran, Iran. In July and August of 2020, 50 bird specimens were collected from five regions of Tehran (north, south, east, west, and central) and 10 birds from Alborz region (as the control station). The lead concentration was measured by using a FAAS instrument after acid digestion. The results showed that the average lead concentration in feathers of five regions of Tehran (North: 42.95 ± 23.57, Central: 43.59 ± 9.58, South: 35.42 ± 3.38, East: 22.91 ± 3.24, and West: 34.36 ± 11.98 µg/g) were higher than those of the control station (14.40 ± 2.97 µg/g). Significant differences were observed between lead concentration in feathers of the birds collected from the control station and those of central, south and west of Tehran. Lead concentration in the birds' lungs in all regions of Tehran (North: 72.65 ± 17.55, Central: 20.76 ± 3.02, East: 17.88 ± 1.74, and West: 30.19 ± 13.04 µg/g) except south (13.17 ± 2.14 µg/g) were higher than the control group (14.57 ± 1.94 µg/g). However, this difference was only significant between the birds of the control station and those of north of Tehran. In this study, no significant differences were observed between lead concentrations in male and female as well as adult and juvenile sparrows. Also, no significant correlation was observed between tissue accumulation of lead in feathers and lungs. This study suggests that feathers can be used as a useful indicator of local air pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental issues and the significant reduction of air quality in the metropolitan areas of developing countries have become chronic challenges. While the impacts of many reasons such as the rapid trend of urbanization, lacking sustainable thinking in urban planning approaches, and urban sprawl have been explored in previous literature, the role of political economy, especially the structure based on the rentier economy, in the change of air quality as an environmental challenge in the metropolitan areas of developing countries has received little attention. To fill this gap, this study focuses on the role of the rentier economy and identifies the drivers based on it that have a tremendous impact on the air quality in Tehran metropolitan area, Iran. To this end, using the Grounded Theory (GT) foundation database and two-round Delphi survey, the opinions of 19 experts were used to identify and explain major drivers that impact air quality in Tehran. Our findings revealed that nine major drivers have an increasing impact on the air quality in the metropolitan area of Tehran. These drivers considering the dominance of the rentier economy are interpreted as the lack of powerful local governance, the rental economy, centralized structure of government, unsustainable economic development, institutional conflicts, a faulty planning system, financial unsustainability of municipalities, unfair distribution of power, and inefficient urban development policies. Among the drivers, the impacts of institutional conflicts and lack of powerful local governance on air quality are more considerable. This study highlights the role of the rentier economy as a major obstacle to resilient responses and constructive actions against chronic environmental challenges such as drastic changes in air quality in metropolitan areas of developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2018, during a garbology project in Tehran, a bundle of documents was found in a waste container in a middle-class district. The papers included the daily reports of two marketers working in the private healthcare system as well as some documents listing the salaries of private laboratory staff. As most marketers in the private healthcare system in Iran are young females, the documents indicate how the employment policy of the government has impacted the lives and career paths of educated women, so that they now must work long hours under temporary contracts. The documents also reveal some of the mechanisms of the private system, such as arrangements between physicians and private labs, and expose the complications of marketers' daily living. In this article, the authors examine the documents and garbage bags attributed to single working women, in order to portray the everyday lives of these female marketers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, a big effort has been made to find the right solution strategy for controlling the complex, multidimensional and diverse problem of urban air pollution. However, despite good development in this area, academia and governance divisions are still investing the development with a reliable methodology for examining the full scope of the problem under real conditions. This paper thus proposes a system dynamic-based model that is capable of representing the full pattern of behaviour of NOx emission in metropolitan settings, dependent on a network of contributing factors. The study identifies five underlying interconnected subsystems, each of which potentially causes a significant level of NOx pollution, and the consequence synergy, stemming from the operation of all subsystems together. These are: (1) the sector of the economy, (2) the population structure and changes, (3) urban transport operations, (4) the performance of industries and businesses sector, and (5) energy production level and method. The Vensim software simulated the model using 15 years of data from Tehran-related activities. The simulation takes into account four different scenarios: (a) maintaining the existing trends in business and industries; (b) enhancing the energy sector's productivity; (c) improving the transport management system's efficiency; and (d) a mixed scenario situation, applying the second (b) and the third (c) scenarios simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the impact of precipitation on Middle Eastern countries like Iran using precise methods such as stable isotope techniques. Stable isotope data for precipitation in Tehran were obtained from the Global Network of Isotopes in Precipitation (GNIP) station and sampled for two periods: 1961–1987 and 2000–2004. Precipitation samples were collected, stored, and shipped to a laboratory for stable isotope analyses using the GNIP procedure. Several models, including artificial neural networks (ANNs), stepwise regression, and ensemble machine learning approaches, were applied to simulate stable isotope signatures in precipitation. Among the studied machine learning models, XGboost showed the most accurate simulation with higher R2 (0.84 and 0.86) and lower RMSE (1.97 and 12.54), NSE (0.83 and 0.85), AIC (517.44 and 965.57), and BIC values (531.42 and 979.55) for 18O and 2H compared to other models, respectively. The uncertainty in the simulations of the XGboost model was assessed using the bootstrap technique, indicating that this model accurately predicted stable isotope values. Various wavelet coherence analyses were applied to study the associations between stable isotope signatures and their controlling parameters. The BWC analysis results show coherence relationships, mainly ranging from 16 to 32 months for both δ18O–temperature and δ2H–temperature pairs with the highest average wavelet coherence (AWC). Temperature is the dominant predictor influencing stable isotope signatures of precipitation, while precipitation has lower impacts. This study provides valuable insights into the relationship between stable isotopes and climatological parameters of precipitation in Tehran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]